Lyra
by aurorahykw
Summary: A romantic re-telling of One Piece through the eyes of Miya, the Straw Hats favourite drinks expert. [OC x Various]
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:** Yay! A first story uploaded. I don't know how often updates would be, nor do I know if it'll be interesting enough to read, but I do hope everyone likes it!

Fun fact: Future chapters will be randomly named through my shuffled music playlist.

* * *

 **Prologue: The Pretty Reckless - Follow Me Down**

* * *

It was a dull day and there had _never_ been a dull day in Loguetown as far as Miya remembered.

The Break-A-Booze bar, the bar Miya worked at was strangely empty and she hummed listlessly, wondering when her first customers of the day were going to pop in. Just earlier, her mother had left her in-charge as she met with the other shop owners in the area; rental prices were soaring, due to the large influx of tourism Loguetown received from pirates.

It would have been more, anyway, if it wasn't for the Navy.

Miya sighed, recalling the man at the top of the food chain. Smoker wouldn't have gave those pirates a shot, even if there was an off-chance that they could have been good people. His assistant, on the other hand…

The girl sighed more deeply, remembering Tashigi's face. She'd always wondered how a nice and lovely person like her could stand to work under that nasty man. It wasn't as though she hated Smoker; but her few run-ins with him and his knowledge of her admiration towards pirates had been nothing but trouble from the get go. Tashigi, who had been good friends with her for the past year or so, had insisted that she was a good person but Smoker of course could care less. He couldn't see how someone who admired pirates so blatantly could be anything but trouble.

The problem was; it annoyed her that he hated her very guts but was always so civil with her mother.

She often wondered if he liked Maria, though it was clear to her that her mother would be too old for him to begin with. The woman was almost halfway to hundred, for goodness sake!

But Miya loved her mother. Sure, she wasn't her biological mother and sure, the story of how Maria found her in a trash bin _always_ moved her but there was absolutely no way the older woman was going to find happiness in a man like him.

On the bright side, her mother _did_ liked that tailor next door; leaving Miya to smile. Yes, the tailor and her mother would make a great couple. After all, it was about time she got into a relationship after her husband passed away!

The thought that passed made Miya's heart ached a little bit. She remembered her mother telling how she lost both her husband and her newborn baby in the span of a week. It must have been heartbreaking to be the only one left alone but as her mother always told her, the sight of Miya crying and abandoned at the trash bin had felt like fate for her.

It was as though God was telling her not to give up. And so she gladly raised Miya with all the love she could shower her and here she finally was; a full grown woman eighteen years of age.

And not to mention with responsibilities! (To hurry the old tailor next door to ask for her mother's hand in marriage as she swore she saw him a few times now practicing his lines).

Thoughts of helping him flew out the window as the chimes to the front door rang, signalling that visitors have finally made their way to her bar.

"Good Afternoon! Welcome to Break-A-Booze!" Miya stood up excitedly and was surprised to see a group of people no more her age strolling through.

"We heard the booze here's the best." The only woman in the group spoke up. "But it's kinda empty…"

"Maybe we got the wrong place?" Moss-man interrupted, leaving Miya to hurry to her customers.

"You got the right place! Please, take a seat. Business's just slow today for some reason."

"Really?" A young man with a long nose looked at her dubiously. He took the nearest seat anyway. "You mean, this never happens?"

"Never!" Miya grinned confidently. "Except that one time Gold D. Roger was executed since everyone went to see his execution instead. But oh! Of course, it's something I heard from my mother so I won't know how true it is. I wasn't even born yet."

"Gold D. Roger?!" This time the one with straw hat spoke. "I knew it! He must be awesome!"

"As you are awesome!" A blond man with curly eyebrows suddenly took her hand and kissed it. _O…kay?_ "Your name, milady?"

"M-Mi-?" She couldn't even finish her name as he mistaken her murmurs for one.

"Beautiful name for a beautiful face-"

"Mi, right?" Moss-man finally took a seat. "Think you can get us the best booze here?"

 _My name's not Mi…but oh well._

The young woman smiled and ushered the others to their table. She gave a nod and proceeded to ask if they'd like food with it. Murmurs of meat went around the table and she headed into the kitchen to wake up their cook who was sleeping, who quickly got on his feet to serve their first customers today. Meanwhile, she headed to the bar as she brewed them her favourite and her specialty; green apple flavoured vodka.

She was elated when the quintet approved of the taste as they asked for more.

"Hey, this is pretty decent." Moss-man praised her. "Any other specialties you have?"

"This is my best." Miya admitted. "But there are a couple of others I can make if you'd like me to."

"I heard that the bar girl here's an expert at picking out alcohol for people based on their looks." Curly brows man spoke up. "… Is that you?"

"Sure is!" Miya smiled as she saw their eyes lit with anticipation. "Would you like a special each?"

"Of course!"

And so she went behind the bar again: specialties including old ale, wine, gin, whiskey and more vodka. The group were definitely enjoying their tasting session as they tried the different drinks; even if it was meant for the other person.

"This is seriously the best." Moss-man praised her again and she bowed her head humbly.

"And it tastes great with the meat too!" The straw hat stared right at her. "Okay, I've decided! Hey, you wanna be part of my crew?"

Miya laughed at the question she got far too many times from pirates who'd visited their shores. "I can't, sorry."

"Why not?!" He pouted, offended that Miya turned him down.

"For one, I don't even know who you guys are."

"I'm Luffy, and this is Zoro, Usopp, Nami and Sanji."

 _Too fast._ " _And_ two, I can't leave my mother here all alone."

"That's too bad." The girl called Nami trailed off. "You make great drinks and it would have been nice to have another girl on board."

" _And_ three." She laughed again. "You guys don't even know my name."

The crew began to stare squarely at her. And then, a still silence.

"So?" It was Sanji who broke the awkwardness that went on for a few seconds. "What is it?"

"What's what?" The young woman shrunk back at their intense gazes.

"Your name." They replied at the same time.

"M-Miya."

"Well, Miya," Luffy sighed as he took a bite out of his meat. "I still think it's a damn shame."

Miya shook her head as she gave them a firm response. "Maybe, but who knows? Let's leave it up to fate."

The crew gave her puzzling looks but thought no more of it as they began to chow down on their food. The bar girl, in the meanwhile, went back to her safe spot; eyes lost on the quintet's antics. Fate…

Like how fate brought her mother to her; maybe one day fate will show her the way to life.

And that's all Miya thinks as she watched them slurp the booze that she made.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Girls' Generation - You Think**

* * *

It was in the dark alley streets that she heard a young man screaming noisily and her first instincts had been to go help him.

Her sharp ears quickly picked up on a second voice and upon recognising to whose it was, Miya decided that saving the man would probably be a hassle. He would probably start giving _her_ some trouble instead and the young woman shuddered at that unpleasant thought.

 _Sucks for the poor guy, I guess._

"Let me go!" She heard the guy screamed as she tried making her way out to where sunlight shone in Loguetown. "I need to head to the Grand Line!"

"Not a chance. Straw Hat Luffy, you should stop resisting and just let me throw you into prison for good before you decide to do more outrageous things."

 _Hah, outrageous…. Wait, what?! Luffy?!_

The quick mention of his name had Miya sprinting down the alleys expertly as she tried to locate her new friend.

Well, she guessed they were friends because…

* * *

 _"I still think it's a shame, Miya." Luffy's face suddenly popped out right in front of her, snapping her out of her daydream._

 _The girl squeaked in surprise and almost fell off her stool if his hands hadn't reach out for her body._

 _"T-Thanks…" A quick look at his hands, however, made her squeak again. "Your hands! There's something wrong with it!"_

 _"Of course not." He chided. "They're just stretchy, since I'm a rubber man."_

 _"You have devil fruit powers?" Miya asked incredulously. "That's neat."_

 _"Isn't it?!" Luffy grinned proudly. "It's really handy too!"_

 _"… You made a pun?"_

 _"He made a pun?!" Luffy's crew stared in shock._

 _"I could have sworn he was dumber than that." Zoro pondered thoughtfully, leaving the other three to slap him on his back._

 _"You, of all people, have no right to say that!"_

 _"But anyway," Luffy's ability to tune them out proved amazing. "You sure you don't want to join us?"_

 _"I…" Miya pursed her lips in frustration. "Want to leave it to fate."_

 _"Fate, huh…"_

 _"Also…"_

 _"Also?" He turned to her expectantly._

 _"When are you going to let me go?"_

 _His hands stretched back to normal and his ears turned red at her comment. Luffy scratched his cheeks awkwardly and apologised as he gave her a toothy grin. "Sorry!"_

 _"He's blushing?!" Usopp knocked him on his head._

 _"He's apologising?!" Nami looked like she saw a ghost._

 _"He's not that dumb?!" Zoro sighed again, shocked at this surprising revelation._

 _"… The world sure is a strange place." Sanji huffed his cigarette, eyes dreamily resting on the ceiling above them._

 _"Well, if you changed your mind…" Luffy trailed off seriously. "You're always welcome on board!"_

 _"But…"_

 _"We're friends, now! Don't be shy!"_

 _"Friends?" Miya tilted her head in confusion. "But we've just met-"_

 _"That's that, I guess." He cut her off. "All right, guys! Let's go get ourselves some meat! I mean, supplies!"_

 _And just like hurricane, the rowdy crew left her bar stilled with silence once more. Just as she was about to take a breather, chimes rang on the front door again._

 _"Oh, and Miya?" Luffy suddenly called out to her. "Leaving it to fate is a good idea!"_

 _Right…_ Miya thought sullenly. _Friends…_

* * *

It didn't take her long to find the small alley the pair were in and she came to a halt, as soon as she saw Smoker's pudgy hands on her new friend's neck.

"Hey! That's not very nice!" Miya shouted and the white haired man frowned upon seeing the familiar face.

"If it isn't Miss. Pirate Enthusiast," Smoker sighed, knowing that this would be a headache to deal with. "To what displeasure do I owe your company?"

She took a quick glance at the situation again, noting that Smoker had already activated his devil fruit powers; judging by all that smoke on Luffy's neck.

"Miya!" Luffy managed to call out to her. "You need to leave. This guy's too strong!"

"Of course he is. He _is_ a Captain of the Navy." She replied exasperatedly. "How did you even get yourself in trouble with him?"

"You know this man, bar girl?" Smoker raised an eyebrow. "Never thought you'd know such a big name."

"Big name…?"

"What, you're friends with him and you don't know? Straw Hat's an infamous rookie."

"You are?!"

Luffy shook his head. "I didn't even know."

"He has a bounty on his head. Specifically about 30,000,000 berries."

"That much?!" Miya turned to the young man again and he gave her a victorious pose, amidst the situation he got himself in.

 _An idiot…_

"Maria won't be happy with you being friends with infamous pirates." Smoker's words shook her out of her thoughts.

"What?" Miya made a face. "You like my mother or something?"

This time, it was his turn to make a face. "Of course not."

"Oh."

It was strange at how relieved she was from hearing his words. That meant that she needn't worry about her mother being enamoured at a much younger, nasty, man.

Nasty being the keyword.

"Anyway, Miya!" Luffy called out to her. "Get Zoro! And help me tell the others to get back to the ship. I'll manage in the meantime somehow."

"No you won't." Smoker's smoky arms were suddenly on her shoulders.

The young woman yelped, taken aback at how quick he was. Tried as she might to make him let her go, it proved futile as her hopes were dashed as fast as her hands went right through them.

"I…I'm just a civilian!" Miya protested but Smoker still wouldn't let go. "What the hell is your problem?!"

"You're not getting in my way." Was all he said as he turned his attention back onto Luffy. "Don't involve her in your petty crimes, pirate."

"I'm not!" Luffy defended himself but then uttered meekly. "Not _yet_ anyway."

"What do you mean by that?" His voice was as a low as a whisper and Miya gulped, knowing too well at how serious Smoker suddenly was.

This was the voice he used whenever he captured pirates who hurt the civilians in Loguetown.

His famous 'I-hate-pirates-they-are-scums-and-they-proved-it' voice.

"Meaning she rejected my offer to become part of my crew!" Luffy cried out. "But she did say she'll leave it up to fate."

"Wise choice." Smoker snickered, eyes now staring right at her. "Guess I'm fate."

Miya swore she could have puked.

"You know, you're forgetting something crucial." Her sudden arrogant attitude left both men confused. It took some time but her practice wouldn't fail her now. "I'm not bound by your smoke, Smoker."

A look of recognition passed through his features but before he could have steeled his grip on her, the girl disappeared without a trace; leaving only blood on his hands.

"What the hell?" Luffy's eyes widened with disbelief but as Smoker got caught up in the confusion, he too, took this opportunity to run away from the man.

"Shit."

The captain realised he let the two escaped and was contemplating on which one he'd like to go after more but even that took time and left the man with more frustration to handle.

Was that really something to think about?

Of course he had to go after Straw Hat Luffy and the man took off in the direction the other ran off in.

Luffy huffed and puffed, tired from the disarray that he was put through. It took him a while to realise that Miya was suddenly running beside him and the young man slowed down to a stop.

"What are you doing?!" Miya looked at him in disbelief. "You have to continue running!"

"You didn't tell me you had powers!"

"You never asked!"

"How could I if I didn't know?!"

"… Fair point."

Luffy sighed. "So? What are you?"

"A b-blood human."

"Is that why you're covered in blood now?" He noted her once white dress tainted with reds. Miya simply nodded. "How does it work anyway?"

"I ate the Chi Chi no Mi." She confessed. "And I've been secretly training my powers in these dark alleys so no one would freak out."

"A blood human, huh." Luffy spaced out. "That's kinda cool."

"You know what's cooler?" Miya looked around nervously. "If we started running because I'm pretty sure Smoker will catch up to us soon."

The fear of not getting to Grand Line crept up again and Luffy was suddenly on his way. Again, Miya ran by his side.

"Why are you running with me anyway?" And a thought passed through his head. "Don't tell me! You're accepting my offer?"

"F-Fate." She huffed, trying to catch up with the young man.

"This _is_ fate." He frowned, wondering how dense she was. "You meeting me back there was fate, don't you think?"

"It is?" Miya huffed some more. "Then I guess…"

"No, you won't." Smoker caught up and took Luffy by his neck. "I said, I'm not letting you go, Straw Hat Luffy!"

The dark skies that were clouded over seemed to get darker and thunder roared nearby, leaving Miya to stand still on her feet. The whole thing before her seemed to play out in slow motion, as Smoker almost forced Luffy's head onto the concrete ground.

"It's over." Smoker muttered through gritted teeth.

And then, a lightning.

More slow motion but it did felt like time stopped.

To her front, Miya saw a cloaked man; hands on Smoker's as they stopped him from hurting the young man.

Lightning flashed again and she saw how Smoker widened his eyes with disbelief.

"Dragon…"

Thunder roared and Miya gulped nervously.

 _Dragon? As in THE Dragon? World's number one criminal and all that?_

In a flash, Luffy got away but not before carrying Miya on his back.

"H-Hey?!"

Luffy didn't stop but Miya continued staring at the unfolding scene before her. She heard Smoker asked on why he helped Luffy, something she thought was strange as well.

 _He is the number one criminal after all… Maybe he's doing it to spite the Navy._

"Miya." Luffy's sudden serious tone focused her attention back onto him. "I'm leaving now."

"I know."

"So you need to make a choice quickly. Do you want to come along?"

The girl remained silent, unsure on how to answer. This was too sudden to take in and her eyes darted back to the dark alleys of Loguetown once more.

Still carrying her over his back, Luffy uttered, "If you choose yes, we're going to make a turn to the bar so that you can say goodbye to your mother. If you choose no, we're going our separate ways from that block onwards."

She stretched her neck out to see the nearby block he was talking about. It'll take approximately another five seconds before…

"I…" Miya bit her lips nervously.

 _Four seconds._

"Luffy…"

 _Three seconds._

"Fate."

 _Two._

"I...!"

 _One._

"Miya!" Luffy shouted as they neared the block.

"Luffy!" She finally made a choice. "Take me with you!"

His footsteps screeched as they paused and made a right turn, all the way down to the bar. She took a deep breath, amazed that she'd let her instincts get the better of her. Worries clouded her mind but a reassuring pat on her back left her staring at the young man carrying her.

The grin he bore was far too wide.

"You'll be fine." Luffy made eye contact with her and the next words he said would leave her blushing. "I'll take care of you and your mother will be fine too. She did raised a person like you."

When they finally reached the bar, the young man put her down and pushed her inside. "Go on."

Miya gave a determined nod and went in nervously. Inside, her mother was chatting with the cook; her eyes sparkling with curiosity at the familiar tales he told of her again.

"You mean yet another pirate group asked her to go with them?" Maria's voice was laced with amusement but upon seeing Miya, froze.

"Mother! I…" She tumbled nervously towards them and seeing the worried look on her daughter's face, Maria gave a knowing smile.

"You finally decided to be a pirate?" She teased and Miya gulped anxiously. "I've always known you'd be one someday."

"Would you hate me for it?"

"Of course not." Maria laughed. "I've called it."

"But you'd be alone." Miya reminded the older woman. "I don't want you to be alone."

This time, a small smile etched on her lips. "I'm no longer the frail woman I used to be. I'm… happy now. And you should find your own happiness too."

"Mother…"

"I've never said this before," Maria walked up to her daughter. "But I've always felt your morbid fascination with pirates had to do with your birth parents. Maybe… it's time for you to find your destiny. You've always been a child of fate."

Tears welled up in the young woman's eyes as she threw herself over to her mother. "I promise! I'll write whenever I can!"

"Of course you will. I expect no less." She chuckled before looking at her more seriously. "Is he a good captain?"

Miya laughed. "He looks and feels like an idiot."

"So a good one." Her mother wiped the tears away. "I'm happy for you. Now, go. Before the Navy gets you."

"You already knew?"

The older woman practically had to shove her daughter out of the bar, grinning far too suspiciously for her liking. "You're still as naïve as ever. Maybe one day you'll understand."

When they finally stepped outside, Maria's eyes glazed over a young man with a straw hat.

"Is this the captain?" She smiled and nodded her head approvingly. "You're the young man from before."

"Have we met, grandma?"

"Grandma?!" Miya wanted to smack him but Maria only laughed.

"No we haven't, but I saw you at the execution platform just now." Then she turned to her daughter. "Child of fate, indeed. How lucky you are to have such a captain."

"Mother?"

Maria then turned to Luffy. "Take care of my daughter will you?"

"Will do!"

"Now go."

The older woman gave her daughter one last hug as she pushed her into the arms of the young man. Luffy, as before, slung Miya over his shoulders as she protested. He began running, leaving Miya no time to say a final goodbye to her mother.

"S-Stop carrying me! I can run on my own!"

"No you can't." Luffy said as a matter of fact. "You were huffing way too much just now."

"Don't be rude! Besides, I haven't even said goodbye."

"Well, say goodbye now."

"T-That's…" Miya's eyes stared back at the figure getting smaller and smaller with each passing second. "Mother! I'll write letters, I promise! Also…"

Luffy grinned, holding her tighter as she shouted with her whole being. "I love you!"

And they were soon on their way to the ship, which Miya learned later was the Going Merry, as they avoided the many Navy soldiers after them.

When they finally reached, the crew raised their anchor and they soon took off; excited at the new adventures awaiting them at the Grand Line.

"So… You've joined us." Zoro grinned widely. "Looks like it wasn't a waste getting all those different type of alcohols on board, after all. You'll make good ones for us, right?"

"Of course!" Miya promised him. "It will be my pleasure!"

"Finally…" Nami sighed in relief. "Another female. It was getting stuffy with just the guys here. I'm so glad, Miya!"

Miya shot her a supportive look.

Behind them, Usopp tried to hold off a seething Sanji.

"Can someone tell me?! Why is Luffy still not putting her down?!"

She looked to Luffy, whose eyes lay squarely on her face. He gave her his famous toothy grin, one that was contagious and made her do the same.

"Guess _I'm_ fate, huh." He muttered softly, only for her ears.

"Right," Miya grinned back at him, " _Captain._ "


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On**

* * *

 _The rain fell heavily but nothing sullied the moods of the humans on board. Instead, they chose to make a vow as they entered the Grand Line._

 _"To become the King of Pirates!"_

 _"To become the greatest swordsman in the world!"_

 _"To draw a map of the world!"_

 _"To find All Blue!"_

 _"T-to become a brave warrior of the seas!"_

 _"…To become a great pirate!"_

* * *

Soft cries echoed through the journey as the Going Merry made its' way to Whiskey Peak. Usopp frowned, deciding that he had enough of it and marched straight to the one causing the noise.

"If you want to cry, cry out loudly like a man!" He chided but was kicked instead.

"She's not a man!" Nami butted in, as she patted the young woman's head. "Leave her alone."

"But she's been whining since we left Reverse Mountain. It _has_ to stop some time."

"How could you be so heartless, you cruel person?" Miya managed through sniffled snobs. "L-La…Laboon!"

"There, there. Let it all out." Nami reassured her. "Men are heartless creatures, that's all."

 _You're not in a position to say that…_ Usopp thought sarcastically.

"And this!" Miya suddenly stood up and pointed accusing fingers at the two new figures before her. "I can't believe we're letting the people who hurt Laboon on our ship!"

"Captain's orders." Zoro interrupted before turning to the two, leaving them to gulp anxiously. "Hey, are we going the right way?"

"O-Of course!" Mr. 9 assured the crew. "We should be reaching soon. I hope."

"Guys!" Luffy's voice was heard from the front of the ship. "I see an island!"

As though on cue, they huddle together at the front with their captain, and sure enough saw an island just miles away. When the crew turned back, however, they noticed both Mr.9 and Miss Wednesday thanking them for their help as they jumped into the waters and washed away.

Usopp only sighed further. " _This_ is the thanks we get?"

"Does it matter?" Luffy suddenly started waving. "Look at this!"

The crew looked around curiously. Whiskey Peak turned out like no other, its' citizens pouring out to wave the pirates hello. It was a strange sight to take in but the men on board seemed to have no qualms about the welcome they were getting.

All except Zoro.

"They're welcoming pirates?" He assessed suspiciously.

"At least they don't hate us." Nami reassured herself. "It'll only spell trouble if they weren't as welcoming."

"I still think it's suspicious." Miya stroked her chin in a childish manner, as though the lead of a detective drama.

When they finally anchored at the port, a man called Igarappoi welcomed the crew with loving arms and they learned that he was the town's leader. The town seemed to be in a merry mood as they lay out a festive celebration for the pirates' arrival. They brought out food (that Luffy finished quickly) and more food and of course, booze.

Women of all shapes and sizes started flocking to both Sanji and Usopp as they danced around having a merry time. Nami, on the other hand, was busy earning (or thieving) berries out of the citizens; leaving Miya to awkwardly stand in a corner.

"Don't stand there alone." A handsome young man suddenly approached her. "You're far too pretty for that. Care for a dance?"

 _P-Pretty?_

The young woman blushed and was about to nod her head shyly when strong arms latched onto her shoulders.

"Miya!" Zoro brought her closer to him and she immediately recognised the different alcoholic scents on him. "You need to try some of this!"

"Hey guys!" The man introduced her to the people that were at his table. "Miya here is our booze expert! You guys make some pretty good drinks but none as good as hers, sorry."

"What…" The citizens all stared curiously at her.

Apparently, having a long hour drink with the citizens seemed to let them have the impression that Zoro was a refined drinker when in actuality, was just a heavy drinker.

Miya, however, was far too disappointed to think too much into that.

"T-The handsome guy…"

"What do you think?!" Zoro shoved a cup of lager onto her hands and the young woman drank reluctantly.

"It's good, actually." She nodded her head in approval and relief spread through their faces. "But it's too strong for me. I'm more of a flavoured spirits kind of person."

"Oh!" The handsome young man from before was miraculously sitting beside her. "You seem to have a lot of knowledge on alcohol."

Miya blushed as he praised her. "Of course! I was raised in a bar my whole life."

"That is awesome. Tell me more-"

And again, the young man was interrupted by Zoro.

"To Miya, our booze expert!" He raised a glass as the others follow suit.

His left arm, however, was stuck on her shoulders and showed no signs of letting go.

 _Zoro…. You're in the way…_

"To Miya!" They raised a glass to her.

Miya and the handsome young man could only exchange meek laughters.

* * *

When she came to, she noticed the full moon looming over the night sky through the open window. Miya woke up, groggily holding her head as she let the events sink in. Her eyes assessed the dark room she was in and noticed the others sprawled out on the ground.

Were those footsteps on Luffy's face?

She shook her head, thinking that she was still drunk. Another quick glance around the room, however, confirmed her suspicions that the crew was smaller than they were before; with both Nami and Zoro missing.

The young woman rubbed her eyes and made her way outside but the sight before her quickly jolted her out of the drunkenness that she thought she had.

This could have only been done by one man only; Zoro.

Miya was horrified at first when she realised that he had cut the innocent citizens of Whiskey Peak down but her gut instincts said otherwise.

 _Zoro's not that type of person… Sure, he's a clueless cock-blocker but he wouldn't cut them down if he had no reason to._

It was then it all clicked; their earlier suspicions regarding Whiskey Peak might have been true.

She walked a little further, noting that many of them were unconscious and had weapons near them. These were definitely not Zoro's and that meant that it had to be theirs.

 _Why would they have weapons?_

Miya paced anxiously, wondering if they were the Navy but something told her that they weren't. Her eyes then picked up on a familiar face and the girl rushed to his side, cautiously putting away the weapon that was near him.

"You're the handsome man from before, aren't you?" Miya tried to help him but when his eyes fluttered open, they only glared at her.

"You will all pay for this." He coughed blood out of his system and she noticed a big cut down on his stomach. " _All_ of you."

The young woman frowned as she let him go, leaving his head to plopped onto the ground roughly as he coughed out more blood.

"And here I thought you said I was pretty."

"Pirates can't be pretty." He muttered sarcastically and Miya raised an eyebrow. "To us bounty hunters, they never will be."

"Bounty hunters?" It finally dawned on her the true reason to why Zoro have cut them down. "I see, it all makes sense now."

The young man somehow managed to retrieve a weapon nearby from a fallen comrade and was about to stabbed Miya through her back when his hands plunged the weapon deeper into his own stomach instead.

"Why…" He groaned in disbelief at his own actions.

Miya, who finally snapped out of her own thoughts, turned to face him.

"Sorry." She seemed genuinely apologetic. "It's not you, it's me."

There was dark amusement laced in her chuckle afterwards. _Sounds as though I'm breaking up with him or something._

She swiped some bits of blood on his stomach and dangled her fingers obnoxiously in front of his face. The man groaned louder as his hands continued to plunge the weapon deeper and deeper into his own self.

"As long as I have a bit of your blood," Miya explained. "I'm able to fuse my blood with yours and control your actions. _And_ your mind."

She continued, "I _am_ a blood human, not that you knew that."

 _Curse your pretty face…_ Miya heard his thoughts echoed in her head.

"Oh?" She giggled as she walked away. "You _did_ found me pretty after all! I'm glad."

The weapon suddenly dropped from his hands and the man sighed in relief. He would have gone after the young woman, if it wasn't for the fact that he felt drained. He watched her figure get away as he began to lose consciousness.

The Straw Hat Pirates were on a whole other level, as expected. He only hoped someone could stand up to them.

When Miya finally found the others, the fight had finished and there stood Igarappoi with Miss. Wednesday with the rest of her crew. She wanted to warm them about their true identities but figured that they would have probably figured it out before her.

As she walked towards them, she noticed Luffy's grumpy face finally turning into a smile.

"Miya!" He waved her forward. "You're late!"

She eyed the two figures suspiciously but before she could say anything, Nami had already latched herself onto her and the girl noticed that the orange haired woman's eyes were looking a little strange; as though obsessed with something.

"Miya…!" Nami cried into her chest. "We're going to be rich!"

"H-Huh?"

"We're escorting Miss Princess here to her kingdom and then we'll be rich!"

"P-P-Princess?!" Miya stared the blue haired girl down.

"Thank you for agreeing to help Vivi- _sama_." Igarappoi bowed his head out of respect. "I'll make sure you'll be paid handsomely for this job."

"Handsomely as in 1,000,000,000 berries!" Nami squealed and tugged onto Miya's arms once more.

"T-that's…!"

In true royal fashion, Igarappoi, whom Miya later learned was actually Igaram, explained the whole history of who they were and why they were with Baroque Works. She found her heart ached as she watched the Princess named Vivi lost in her own thoughts. All thoughts of her being Miss Wednesday disappeared and Miya unknowingly stood beside the younger girl.

"It… must have been really tough on you." She commented plainly and she saw how Vivi tried to hold her tears back. She patted the girl clumsily but stopped when she saw Igaram at the corner of her eyes.

There was silence, with the Straw Hat crew looking at each other incredulously.

"So… why are you cosplaying as Vivi?" It was Zoro who broke the silence.

"I'll act as a decoy. They would surely send more agents to Whiskey Peak after getting to know our identities. I trust you'll bring Vivi- _sama_ safely?"

"Of course! Our lives depend on it!" Nami reassured but Miya was sure that was the berries talking.

Vivi protested but there was nothing that would change his mind. The crew began to wake both Usopp and Sanji up, both in disbelief at the story they told them. The pair were ashamed at how they slept through it all as they made their way back onto the ship.

Not long after, they noticed the ship Igaram was on had blown up, leaving the crew frozen in their feet.

Vivi cried and bawled loudly, uncontrollable as she tried to reach out for her fallen friend. Miya prevented her from doing so as it was too late to go help him. It seemed a little cruel, Miya thought sadly, but it was a necessity as they couldn't lose Vivi now either. The blue haired girl continue crying and resisting and before long, stopped as she rested her face against the former's chest. She still sobbed softly and Miya hugged the girl tighter.

"It'll be okay." She whispered softly and rubbed her back reassuringly.

Their journey continued in silence, but was interrupted when the infamous Miss. All Sunday arrived flamboyantly on their ship. Tensions were raised but Miya made sure Vivi wouldn't lash out at the older woman, knowing full well how dangerous she was.

 _Vivi wouldn't stand a chance,_ Miya thought glumly.

As mysteriously as she appeared, the woman disappeared again, leaving the crew to sigh in relief. One thing for sure, Miss. All Sunday was an enigma.

Miya took Vivi to the ladies room and told her to sleep after all that has happened. She reluctantly agreed and the young woman gave the royal some space to breathe. When she left the room, the young woman was met with Sanji's worried gaze upon her.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Sanji fidgeted nervously.

"She needs some rest. It's been a wild day for her."

"Miya- _chan_." The blonde man smiled softly. "This side of you is beautiful too!"

"Sanji?"

"Yes, Miya- _chan_?"

"Can you make her some tea for when she wakes up later?"

"Of course!" He muttered confidently. "Leave it to me. For now though, I'll make for you two ladies something to eat!"

"I'd love that." Miya gave him a warm smile to which Sanji went crazy at again.

He disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Miya to shake her head at how optimistic that man was. Before she could go find Nami, she noticed Zoro standing a few feet away staring at her.

"You okay?" He walked up to her and she gave him a smile too.

"I'd never pegged for you to be worried about me." Miya teased and the man turned bright red. Oh, how easy it was to rattle the great swordsman.

"I just… wanted to make sure you were fine too. I know you're worried about the Princess but…" Zoro chose his words carefully.

"But?"

"That guy." He muttered clumsily. "You liked him, didn't you?"

"Guy?" She tilted her head in confusion but was quick to catch on. "Oh! I mean… Yeah, he was attractive but I didn't actually liked-like him."

"You didn't?"

"Of course not. I barely knew him."

"And here I thought…" The man trailed on, shaking his head at the stupid thought that crossed his mind. "Nah, never mind."

"Hmm?"

Behind them, Luffy managed to overhear all their conversation.

And so did Usopp. And Nami.

"Are you hearing what I'm hearing?" Nami's eyes sparkled evilly.

"New blackmail material." Usopp returned her evil eyes.

Luffy frowned before stretching his arms towards them.

"Miyaaaa!"

Strong arms latched onto her shoulders, making her stumble and catching Zoro off guard.

 _Crap! He was there the whole time?!_

"L-Luffy. You're suffocating me." Miya tried to pull her captain's arms off her back but he was already gripping her far too tightly.

He brought his body forward and a knowing look was exchanged between the captain and his first mate. Zoro sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he walked away.

"Z-Zoro?" Miya watched the man leave and he laughed at the tangle she caught herself in.

"Good luck escaping whiny pants over there." He nudged his head towards her back and Miya noticed that Luffy was already right behind her. "You'll need it."

"Luffy…" Miya patted his hands desperately. "A-Air! I need air!"

"And I need food!" He whined, gripping her even more tightly. "Sanji will surely say yes to you! Let's go get food!"

"H-He's already making some…"

"Really?!" His eyes lit up brightly. "That's good news!"

"Y-Yes… So l-let me go…"

"Not a chance." Luffy grinned mischievously and the two were suddenly engaged in friendly (breathless) banter. "Giddy-up!"

"I'm not a horse!"

Zoro smiled at the scene before him. Hopefully when the Princess wakes up, she'll rub off these two optimistic moods as well.

"This… will probably turn out horrible." Nami, who had been watching the whole thing play out, commented dryly.

"Very horrible." Usopp agreed.

"And she's dense!"

"Very dense."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Nami's eyes began to glint evilly again.

This time, Usopp grinned widely. "More blackmail material!"


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Another two chapters update! (Phew) Writing this actually had me re-watching the anime, which is both a good and bad thing as there are certain things I can't remember at the top of my head.

Sorry if certain things don't really match up to the anime or manga as it's a little difficult to incorporate extra OC stories to canon. I hope that it'll still be satisfying to read! Thank you!

* * *

 **Chapter Three: BoA - Love And Hate**

* * *

Little Garden was not as little as Miya hoped it would be.

For one, the animals were huge and she later learned that there were Giants occupying the area.

For about a hundred years or so.

So yeah, definitely not so little.

She was on board with Usopp and Nami, agreeing that they shouldn't have stepped onto the island but ended up leaving the ship anyway. And it was because both Sanji and Zoro had a stupid bet about who'd get more meat first.

They had both turned to her, saying they needed a referee and she had disagreed whole-heartedly; only to be kicked out by the evil duo who told her it'd be best she leave as the idiots were making too much noise.

As noises meant that they could attract more enemies, Miya was unanimously voted off the ship.

She glared at the backs of the two idiots walking in front of her, noting that it was their fault to begin with. If looks could kill, well, both Sanji and Zoro might have actually ended up in heaven.

"I'm the one who will get more meat." Sanji argued. "I'm the cook."

"Oh yeah?" Zoro snorted. "I'm stronger."

"Why you…"

"Miya!" They both shouted at the same time. "Who's stronger?"

Miya sighed at the two idiots.

"Luffy." She answered plainly.

 _That_ managed to shut the two up. _Finally…_

Her happiness was short lived when the pair decided to leave her as a middle point. One went left as the other went right, grumbling that Miya needn't have been so honest and she was sure she heard mutters of how they'd 'show Luffy'.

Show what? She might never know.

It took every inch of Miya's body not to freak out at being left alone. Her heart raced whenever the bushes started rustling and she was on edge the entire time she was there. It was times like these she was glad of her power, to disappear if she ever get caught by something. The downside to that was that she couldn't get very far (she still needed more training) and that she still had to run after.

Miya remembered when Luffy called her out for huffing too much and the girl blushed to herself.

Was she really that bad in running?

She sighed, again, remembering that she had no time to be recalling the past as her life might as well be in danger now. She noted that the pair had yet to return and grew worried.

Zoro _might_ have lost his way somewhere but Sanji wasn't one to take too long to come back. She remained restless, trying her best to have faith that they'll return. Minutes turned to hours and she finally decided she couldn't take anymore waiting.

The girl stood up, stretched her body a little and began to trek the forest alone. Her sharp ears got used to the surroundings quickly and it wasn't long before she heard several voices near her. There were some that she recognised and there were others she didn't but she hurried anyway in case they were in trouble.

Scared as she was, there was no way she was going to leave her comrades to die; especially not at an island like this.

Miya seemed to come right on time but her eyes widened in horror at the sight before her.

"Zoro! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Stupidly enough, she managed to give her location and thus, giving the enemies an advantage.

"Miya…" Nami could almost slapped her head from the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

"I knew cutting your legs was a bad idea." Vivi glared at Zoro but the green haired man didn't mind at all.

"Miya!" He grinned. "You've came!"

"A new straw hat member?" The enemy took notice of her. "No matter, you'll all turn into fine art figures, I suppose."

"You're not getting your stupid hands on her too!" Luffy suddenly arrived and tried to knock him down but was quickly blocked by yet another enemy.

Miya noted they had devil fruit abilities but as flamboyant as the former's abilities were, the young woman had no idea what the little girl's one was. And thus, she remained wary but it wasn't long before the wariness turned into worry.

The wax was falling at a much faster speed and it seemed as though Luffy was under some hypnotic control. Miya considered hurting her enemies, to have their blood fused with hers, as she tried to take control of one of their bodies. It scared her to think that the enemy might have an advantage of her own body too should she do that, and the young woman pursed her lips in frustration at how helpless she was.

Usopp, on the other hand, was a tag team with Karoo, and they both had their hands full from fighting with the man called Mr. 5 and woman called Miss. Valentine. Miya considered helping them but a quick look at a hypnotised Luffy reaffirmed the fact that she was supposed to be helping her Captain.

Using her blood abilities, the young woman disappeared unnoticed as she took a lit up candle into her hands. She had been watching the whole thing long enough to make a conclusion; if Luffy's clothes weren't on him anymore, that would mean the hypnotism would lose its' effects since she concluded that the weird drawings on him were what affected his behaviours.

As stealthily as she could, the young woman disappeared again with the candle and it wasn't long before she got herself to stand behind Miss. Goldenweek.

When Mr. 3 finally noticed her, it was far too late.

Flames enveloped the shirt that Luffy was wearing to a fine crisp; catching the enemies off guard.

 _Okay… he's free, but what now? I clearly didn't think this through._

Angered that she'd been bested, Miss. Goldenweek had tried to get her hands on Miya but Luffy's quick reflexes had put her out of harm's way.

"Miya!" Luffy hugged her once they were far away. "You saved me!"

The young woman only blushed as she realised that his naked chest was against hers and she pushed him away awkwardly.

"Not the time to be celebrating." She reminded him. "Zoro and the others are still in trouble."

Luffy turned serious but quickly grinned as Usopp shouted for him to set the rope that he had doused in oil on fire. With Miss. Goldenweek's interruptions out of the way, the young Captain quickly grabbed Mr. 3 by his head and used the fire to set the rope ablaze as instructed.

Soon enough, the wax melted and the candle set was destroyed. Now able to move, the three spring into action and the remaining of the Baroque Works members were defeated.

"Great idea…" Vivi high-fived the blood human. "In setting Luffy's clothes on fire."

"One would wonder if that was her only intention." Nami snickered but a quick glare from her kept her quiet.

"This is the attitude of someone who almost died?" Miya narrowed her eyes in disbelief but upon setting her eyes on Zoro, turned red again. "And you! You're so stupid!"

"M-Me?!" He pointed to himself, shocked that she would be angry at him.

"I can't believe you tried to cut your own legs off!"

"Hear, hear!" Vivi and Nami cried out in unison.

"It was a life or death situation." Zoro grumbled grumpily. "It was easier to cut my legs off than to die."

"To lose your legs _would be_ to die." Miya almost smacked him but Usopp held her back.

"R-relax." He chuckled nervously. He'd never seen Miya this angry before. "It all turned out well in the end."

This time, Miya softened up. "Thanks to your great idea, Usopp!"

The coward nodded his head, over the moon that he was praised by someone whom he thought was stronger than him.

"Of course, leave it all to the great Usopp- _sama_ -"

"But you're still stupid, Zoro!"

"Oi,oi." Usopp smacked Miya on her back. "You're not even listening to me."

"Miyaaa."

The young woman yelped in surprise as she felt Luffy pressing his naked chest onto her back once more. She tried to push him away but found that his rubber arms were already gripped tightly around her neck and she pulled at it but to no avail.

"L-Luffy." _Not again…._ "Let me go!"

"Miya, I'm starving." The Straw Hat whined, rubbing his cheeks against her back.

Miya tried twirling around but it didn't worked either. At long last, she remained still and her eyebrows quirked up in anger.

"Luffy…" She warned but the young man paid no attention. The others, meanwhile, stepped back in horror as they feasted their eyes on the never before seen anger clouding her face.

"You fought as stupidly as Zoro." Miya continued and the young man finally froze, sensing the cold vibes around her.

He let her go and peeked nervously at her face, finally realising that it was a good idea to step away after all.

"D-Don't be so angry, Miya." Luffy gulped nervously and was taken aback at how readily she agreed, leaving the others to stumble from shock.

"Get a grip!" Nami smacked her back but Miya simply shrugged it off.

Instead, her eyes rested on Zoro's legs and her face was clouded with worry once more.

"Don't worry about it." Zoro knew what she wanted to say and interrupted before she could say it. He then muttered softly, as the rest were caught up in their own conversations. "It doesn't hurt much."

"… Stupid."

She walked over to him and she lightly pressed her hands onto his ankles. The man winced, his eyes glaring accusingly at hers but she paid him no further attention. She tore the bottom pieces of her dress out, leaving Zoro to blush at the unexpected, but he pursed his lips in frustration as she began to bandage his ankles to stop it from bleeding.

"You didn't need to do that."

"This will leave a scar." Miya ignored him, her attention solely focused on his ankles. "…So stupid."

"I get that you're worried." Zoro's words finally made her look up at him. "But I can't promise you I won't ever do that again. It's just the way I do things."

"I still think it's stupid."

"Will you stop saying that?!"

"It is what it is." Miya stuck her tongue out childishly and Zoro resisted the urge to…

Well, he resisted the urge.

They _finally_ came upon Sanji as they made their way back to the Going Merry and was more than elated at hearing his story from when he was missing in action.

Zoro, of course, was unimpressed.

"And look!" Sanji twirled the shiny object in front of the three young women. "I even got this! An eternal pose!"

"Sanji- _kun_!" Nami cried out, happy.

"You can hug me now, Nami - _swan_!" He edged in closer to her but fell onto Usopp instead as she expertly avoided him.

"An eternal pose!" Vivi clasped her hands together.

This time, Sanji neared the blue haired girl but whether intentionally or not, she had also stepped away; leaving him to fall onto Zoro who had pushed the man away.

They were about to argue when Miya suddenly grinned at the blonde cook, "Good job, Sanji!"

"Then, a kiss!" He puckered his lips out for her but was met with Luffy's palms instead.

"Sanji! I'm hungry!"

"Why you little…"

"I am a little hungry too." Miya patted her stomach worriedly. She feared it would growl, but she also feared they had no food on board; which prompted Sanji and Zoro to do their hunting to begin with.

"I stored the meat on our ship just now." Sanji uttered seriously and he patted her head softly. "Though I recalled seeing a dead carcass near our ship."

"Are you talking about _my_ meat?!" Zoro glared and it was well returned.

"Of course. It happened to be all bones."

"Why you little…"

"You found your way to the ship?" Miya pointed an accusing finger at Zoro. "But I was sitting at the middle meeting point the whole time! You couldn't have."

"Oh, right." Zoro seemed to recall returning from a different way instead. "It took some time but I did."

"Y-You're…."

"You were lost!" The crew shouted in unison, leaving the green haired man to _tch-ed_ at their horrible unity.

Zoro reckoned he had gotten lost, only that it wasn't in the way the crew thought of it to be. He peeked shyly at the black haired girl before him and laughed when he saw how she was still face-palming at his antics.

His little peek didn't went unnoticed, much to his luck and he didn't noticed Luffy and Sanji staring right at him; determined expressions on their faces.

"This… is going to be a pain." Nami sighed.

"A huge pain." Usopp agreed.

"How does she do it?" Vivi muttered incredulously. "She's even denser than me."

Beside them, Karoo covered its' face with disbelief.

Unknowing to them all, the little fiasco would only prove to get messier as time went by and Miya, surprisingly, would make a choice that would leave them shocked; forever.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: EXO - Heart Attack**

* * *

Silence made its' way around the ship, its' pirates still in disbelief at what happened.

Having both Dorry and Brogy cut the sea for them to leave Little Garden still proved to be surreal and the crew looked back at the situation with a smile. Usopp and Luffy were both singing songs about the Elbaf warriors, with Karoo happily dancing along with them.

It was then Miya noticed Nami, slumped at the side with beads of sweat already forming on her forehead.

"Nami… you look tired." Miya turned worriedly to her friend. "Are you okay?"

The orange haired girl only shook her head. "As you said, just tired."

Vivi had gathered near upon hearing Miya's worries and the Princess gave a worried look as well.

"You must not push yourself too hard, Nami- _san_."

"But we have to hurry to Alabasta." Nami frowned as she rested herself against the pillar. "But I suppose you're right. Hey, Vivi? Can you look after the log pose for me?"

The girl accepted and she clutched about the log pose worryingly. It wasn't until Sanji came to serve desserts to the three women that Vivi finally allowed herself a smile.

 _That's one less frown to worry about…_

Miya thought thoughtfully as she turned her attention back to the navigator. It seemed as though Nami was getting paler with each passing second and she felt her insides churned uncomfortably at the possible ominous future.

* * *

The word ominous might have been an underestimation.

Miya remembered freaking out when Nami suddenly collapsed into her lap, her body alarmingly feverish. The whole crew were in a disarray trying to make sure that she was all right but an analysis by Vivi pointed that what Nami was experiencing could be fatal. Still, the navigator carried on and also managed to get them out before a cyclone entrapment. When she had collapsed again, it was as though it was luck that they finally managed to dock on a nearby winter island.

While the first meeting with the local residents hadn't been friendly, thanks to Vivi's quick thinking, it had ended for the better with their supposed leader showing the crew the way to cure Nami of her sickness.

They left Zoro behind to watch the ship, part of it having to do with his ankle injuries earlier. Miya was about to head in with the rest of the crew when Vivi stopped her.

"Miya- _san_." Vivi motioned for her to come closer. "Is it okay for you to stay with Mr. Bushido instead?"

"But Nami…"

"Huh?" Both Sanji and Luffy turned to face the blue haired girl simultaneously. "Why must she do that?"

"I'm worried that he'll do something to make his injuries worse."

Miya took a quick glance at his ankles and sure enough, it seemed as though he was healed. However, she knew that there was no way injuries could have healed that fast and she too was worried if something happened to the man should he not take his injuries seriously.

Another look at Nami, however, made her frown.

"But Nami…" The former whined. "I want to accompany her too."

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of her!" Vivi promised. "But think of the disadvantage we would be in if Mr. Bushido got himself in more trouble."

"That's also true…"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Zoro frowned, obviously not understanding the girls.

"But leaving her with Zoro…" Sanji trailed off dubiously.

"Yeah, I don't like it." Luffy added.

"This is no time to be jealous guys." Usopp sighed as he slumped the unconscious Nami on his back. "Nami's getting worse as we speak."

"We're not jealous!" The two shouted, earning a mean stare from Usopp.

"Then, how about we leave Karoo with them, if it'd put your minds at ease?" Vivi grinned widely.

"I guess that'd work." Sanji was the first to agree.

Luffy, however, remained sceptical. Another urge from Usopp was all it took to have the man reluctantly agree, as he didn't wanted to waste any more time in curing Nami. That, and they promised that they'd head to Alabasta quickly.

The crew then made their way with the rest of the residents, with Sanji quickly getting Nami off Usopp's back and on his own. The once noisy ship became quiet and Karoo snuggled against Miya, trying to find warmth amidst the cold.

"Well… since they're finally gone, I guess I can go train." Zoro muttered thoughtlessly, leaving his company horrified.

"No! You should sit quietly or your injuries will get worse!"

"Tch."

Miya narrowed her eyes in fake anger but that was all it took to get the man to quieten down. Silence soon made itself known once more, leaving them with nothing to do. Karoo, who had snuggled against the girl earlier, had fallen asleep; oblivious to its' surrounding.

Zoro stretched lazily, tilting his head towards the girl. "So? What now?"

"Since we were asked to look after the ship, why not do just that."

"…But it's boring doing only that."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Miya sighed, stroking Karoo's head softly.

His eyes lit up brightly, excited at the idea he was about to put out.

"Tell me about your life."

That was the last thing Miya had expected Zoro to say to her. Her eyebrows furrowed together, wondering if there was anything interesting in her life at all that she had to tell him. She decided there was none and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

"What do you want to know? Nothing's that interesting anyway. Besides," Miya pointed out. "I've already told you guys about my family and everything."

"Right." Zoro frowned. "You're still looking for your birth parents, if I remembered correctly."

"Except that I don't even know where to start." She muttered dejectedly. "I thought that being a pirate would give me some clue, at least, what not with my fascination with pirates my whole life."

"And you're finally one. Still found it surprising that you decided to follow Luffy, though."

This time Miya smiled. "Well, he has a certain charm to him, don't you think? I'm sure you'd agree."

The man dismissed her comment, feeling a little envious at how Luffy could bring such a smile to her face. Still, he agreed that it was that very same charm that made him respect the younger man as his Captain.

"Back to your life." Zoro glossed over her compliment. "I still can't believe you're friends with the Navy."

Miya made a face as she waved her hands to defend herself. "I'm not. Tashigi is a different story but I'm sure Smoker hates my very existence."

"See, you're even on a first name basis with the guy."

"I, at least, am not a fan of him." She insisted. "Besides, he had always hated my guts."

"Can't see why." The former chuckled. "I think it's great."

"That's because we're both pirates."

The young woman stopped stroking Karoo's head once she was sure it was sound asleep. She gently placed its' head back on the floor, making sure not to wake the poor duck up. She stretched her body as she stood up, before quickly making her way to sit next to Zoro. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, wondering why she took a seat next to him.

Noting the confused expression on his face, Miya laughed. "What? I can't sit next to you?"

"It's not that." Zoro ran his hands through his hair. "Just wondering why, that's all."

She pointed two fingers in his direction, startling the young man. When he jumped back in surprise, Miya laughed harder, pleased to know that the great swordsman could be as fidgety too.

"I have to keep my eyes on you, remember?"

Zoro scowled, not wanting to be taken lightly. He suddenly brought his face near hers, leaving the girl red in her face as she tried to back away. His hands were placed firmly on hers, making sure she wouldn't be able to run away so easily.

"Just the eyes?" He smirked when she turned a deep red. "Nothing else?"

"S-Sorry." She apologised but he only brought his face closer to hers again. "T-Too close!"

Seeing her panicked state, Zoro chuckled but relented in the end. He let her hands go and rested his back against the pillar behind him as he continued looking at her.

"Didn't pegged you for a flirt." Miya huffed, redness still evident in her cheeks.

"Sorry." Amusement was laced in his voice. "I had to get my revenge, somehow."

There was a complete silence again, but a comfortable one despite what had just transpired between the two. Zoro closed his eyes for some shut eye but a quick thought that passed had the man opened it back mischievously.

"Miya?"

"Hmm?"

"Can't I do some quick underwater training?"

"In this weather?!" Miya pointed out to all the snow falling on them. "Are you crazy? Do you want to get sick?"

"If you're so worried…" Zoro stood up, taking off his shirt. Before the girl could stop him, the man had already dived deep down into the waters below. "You're welcomed to join me."

She ran after the guy, desperate to stop him but all she received was a splash on her face. Miya huffed again, noting that Zoro wasn't brave; he was just crazy. At long last, the girl relented, shaking her head at the situation she got herself in.

"I'd drown before I could do that." Miya stated plainly. "And whatever. I'm not going to be responsible for this mess if the rest found out about this."

"They don't have to find out." Zoro grinned, though his teeth were chattering against the cold. "And you wouldn't drown. Not if I held you close."

When she started blushing again, he edged on further. "And I wouldn't feel this cold if you were with me!"

"Not a chance, moss man." Miya stuck her tongue out at him. "You're crazy."

"Maybe you'd just like crazy." Zoro laughed a deep laugh, causing her to blush deeper.

He dipped his head into the waters again and it happened a few times. Karoo, who had been sleeping, woke up and upon seeing splashes in the water; panicked. Seeing that Zoro was missing, its' imagination started to run wild and it almost went into the water if it wasn't for Miya holding it back.

"Don't bother." Miya sighed. "He's stubborn, that one. Doing underwater training and all."

Karoo nodded its' head in understanding and snuggled closer to the former. A few pats on the head and both their eyes began to flutter against the cold breeze. It wasn't long after when they fell asleep; oblivious that Zoro strayed further and further away.

When they finally awakened, the two would lose their minds about how stupid the green haired swordsman could be. Knowing they were tasked to look after the ship, however, made the two reluctant to chase after him. It also helped that he could take care of himself, no matter the situation he was put it.

The hours dragged by until night time and there were still no signs of any of the Straw Hats returning. Miya considered looking for them; especially still worried about Nami. Before she could have made an impulsive decision, the snow rained harder, causing the young woman to shiver from the cold.

 _Maybe I should just stay here…_

Karoo who had been next to her, started pacing about at the Going Merry. It was easy to see that the duck was worried about a certain green haired young man but another quick reassurance from Miya made it calm down a little. Miya would continue holding her promise to watch the ship; she thought that it'd do her no good if she got worried and not believed in her friends.

A few days passed by and the sky turned to nightfall again. Miya and Karoo both paced about nervously, this time reassuring each other instead. It proved futile with Karoo decidedly wanting to head into the waters; a sign that it was _still_ worried about Zoro.

"He wouldn't be in the waters!" Miya cried out exasperatedly. "He would have been dead by now!"

It was not long after when they heard rowdy voices coming their way and the pair perked up excitedly at the change in situation.

 _They're finally here! … And is that a reindeer?!_

"Miya!" Luffy waved excitedly but she didn't once looked at him. "Miya, Karoo! We're back!"

"N-N-Nami!" Miya screamed excitedly with Karoo bobbing its' head vigorously.

The orange haired girl smiled warmly at the welcome she received and as soon as the reindeer stopped at the Going Merry, she began to hug the pair; snuggling her head against theirs.

"Did you miss me?" Nami asked, though the answer was plain to see.

"We missed you! We thought you were going to die!"

"Tch, there she goes again with her loud crying." Usopp shook his head at the scene before adding softly. "But at least it's with good reason this time."

Both Karoo and Miya continued to bawl harder against the orange haired girl's chest, with Nami pushing their heads away after the crying wouldn't stop after a long while. It was at this time did Miya notice that the reindeer had gotten visibly smaller and she pointed an accusing finger at it.

"T-The reindeer just turned small!"

"Right." Nami noticed the two's bewildered looks. "This is Chopper. He's our ship's doctor."

"He's a doctor?!" Luffy cried out in amazement.

"Don't tell me you just knew-"

"A doctor, huh. That's handy." Miya squatted to meet the reindeer's eye level. "Nice to meet you. I'm Miya and the cute duck is Karoo."

The reindeer hid behind Nami before bowing his head nervously. "I-I'm Tony Tony Chopper. Nice to meet you too."

"He's a doctor _and_ he's this cute?!" Miya tilted her head in pure admiration. "What a strange reindeer you are!"

Chopper could only hide his shock at the fact that someone _finally_ realised he wasn't a talking racoon or a dog. He decided that he liked this girl already.

"T-That doesn't make me happy you fool!"

"Right… Miya…" Vivi suddenly called out to her but she could see that her eyes narrowed with a strange wonder. "How did Mr. Bushido ended up on the island?"

"Right…" Miya turned to look at Karoo who started making a scene.

"He says that the _Zoro_ guy insisted on doing training and that he and the _nice_ girl thought that he drowned when he didn't get back out of the water." Chopper translated the duck's tenacious shrills.

"I didn't think he was drowning." Miya laughed nervously.

"Wait." The whole crew's gaze seemed to squarely rest against their new member. "You're able to understand what Karoo's saying?!"

Chopper began explaining that he was originally a real reindeer to begin with and the crew had marvelled at what a talent it was. Celebrations then promptly began; to celebrate Nami's recovery as well as to their new member.

The feast would carry on into the night, with the crew explaining their current situation to Chopper the next day. Excitement and anxiousness filled their hearts as the ship sailed nearer to Alabasta.

The crew only hoped they'd made it in time; to stop the coup orchestrated by one of the Shichibukai, Crocodile.


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry I didn't update in so long. I honestly didn't know in which direction I wanted to take the story to but after a long time (catching up with One Piece in the manga as well), I've finally laid out a basic framework so I'll follow that from now on. I don't know how often updates will be since it's been a year since I've updated this to be honest. So if you're still sticking around, I really have to bow down and thank you T_T One Piece is still my number 1 fandom at the moment so I do want to write more.

Hoped you liked the update and hopefully Miya's romantic adventure as a Straw Hat member continues to interest you too!

* * *

 **Chapter Five: (G)I-DLE - Latata**

* * *

Golden brown sand greeted the crew as the Going Merry decked at Nanohana, a port town in Alabasta. Miya stretched her body, a little excited that they've finally reached land from sailing for quite some time.

She was sure Luffy had been beside her, before he started running and yelling "MEAT!" across the golden sand and into an oblivious distance. The crew merely narrowed their eyes at how predictable his whole behaviour was.

"Right," Nami dangled her fingers obnoxiously at the men onboard. "Don't get into trouble."

"You _do_ know the guy you should be most worried about had just left running, right?" Zoro raised an eyebrow though it was plain to see the others debating if it was him or Luffy who was the biggest troublemaker.

Sanji merely slithered closer to the navigator. "Don't worry, Nami- _san_! We'll be fine!"

"By fine," Miya frowned as she noticed a familiar ship nearby. "Do you mean that nice looking ship of an enemy I'm sure we've defeated back in Little Garden? Or are we screwed?"

The crew groaned as their sight rested in the same direction as Miya's. Vivi had been the first to speak up.

"I thought me and Karoo could stay on the ship while you guys get off but now…"

"Right, right." Usopp turned to the two. "You'll probably be recognised here, right?"

"I think it's better if you come with us, Vivi." Miya interrupted and while the crew agreed, Usopp had already began making plans that will allow the whole crew to walk through town without being recognised.

As Baroque Works had sketched each of the crew's faces (with the exception of Sanji), getting through town would be difficult but Miya would have liked to think that their current disguise was more suspicious than just being in plain sight.

With Sanji and Chopper now dispersed and tasked to find clothes, food and water, the rest of the crew lounged around behind the big wall, seemingly bored as they waited for the pair so that they could head towards Yuba.

"Ergh, I wonder where that idiot went off to." Nami groaned as she strained her neck to see the possible directions Luffy could have took. "He's _always_ like this."

Miya laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly. "Though I'd like to think that's just his charm."

"Charm?! That dimwit has no charms… well, maybe save a few… at the right times… but charms?!"

"Oh, what's this?" Usopp held a knowing look and snickered. "Have you fallen into the Captain's manly charms, Miya?"

Beside him, Vivi and Karoo giggled. Zoro merely pretended he heard no such thing.

"Of course," Miya spoke up, not wanting to fall into their teasing. "The very same charm that made you guys want to follow him too right?"

Usopp merely glared. "Tch, you're being boring."

"Anyway," Zoro sighed, looking around. "That damn cook sure is taking a long time."

As though a coincidence, Sanji came back with Chopper with the necessary supplies, though the clothes he had picked out for the girls had been questionable.

"Sanji- _san_ , isn't this a dance girls-"

Sanji hopped in excitement, moving towards the three girls. "Isn't it lovely, the clothes I picked out for you?!"

Vivi scratched her head sheepishly. "B-But I asked you for clothes that the citizens would wear…"

"Dancing girls are citizens too!"

"But for us to walk in the desert-"

"Don't worry! If you get tired, I'll carry you!"

Vivi sighed. "It's no use talking to him."

"Vivi's right." Miya half frowned as she swirled around in the costume. "These clothes could be an inconvenience later."

"But I like them! They're my style!" Nami disagreed. "Besides, it looks great on the both of you too."

Sanji hopped in excitement again. "That's right, Nami- _swan_!"

"But Sanji," Miya groaned as she pointed to her exposed stomach. "The sand will make it extra uncomfortable for when we travel through the desert later. It'll probably be sticky and dry all over."

"Don't worry, Miya- _chan_." Sanji placed an arm around her shoulders, leaving a certain green haired man more green. The blonde cook was trying his hardest to not be a creep by how excited he was at their skin to skin contact. "… I'll help you wipe it all off."

"Like hell you would!" Nami screamed as she thumped him on his head. "Miya, don't let this pervert get to you."

The young woman heaved a heavy sighed. "… It's nothing I'm not used to."

* * *

The group split up looking for Luffy, half staying back at the wall to watch over the supplies and another half to walk around town. Miya walked beside Zoro, keeping an eye out for her notorious Captain so that they could get to Yuba quickly.

"Hey," Chopper whispered. "That man's looking for Luffy."

Sure enough, a half naked man with a cowboy hat was walking around with a wanted poster of Luffy's. Miya narrowed her eyes at the sight.

"Wonder what he wants…"

"That mark… I know that mark anywhere." Zoro looked on with great interest before turning to the black haired girl. "Have I told you before I used to be a Bounty Hunter?"

"Just once." Miya laughed, amused that he brought it up randomly.

"G-Guys! Stop flirting!" Nami pulled the two to hide behind the crate.

"What's the big idea-"

"Hey, Zoro!" Usopp was the one who forced his head to face a certain direction. "Isn't that-"

Miya averted her gaze to the left before resisting the urge to scream from shock.

 _Tashigi?! What the hell is she doing here?! And if she's here… is Smoker with her too?!_

"Why is the Navy here?" Miya groaned as she saw the familiar face. "This is frustrating!"

"Sssh! Don't shout!" The others gestured for her to keep quiet.

 _Oops?_

The group decided to meet back with Sanji, Vivi and Karoo to think up of a new plan to locate Luffy. They clearly needed one seeing how both the Navy and Baroque Works were on their backs to capture them.

It wasn't long after when they heard a loud noise coming towards them.

"Must be some dumbass pirates." Sanji took a huff of his cigarette.

"Dumb… ass… pirate…" The crew repeated his words slowly.

"Halt! Straw Hat Luffy! Halt!"

They all cried in unison. "It's Luffy!"

The Straw Hat Captain spotted his crew from afar. "It's you guys! Hey! I'm here! Yo, Zoro!"

Zoro screamed, wondering why the young man he followed was such an idiot. The least he could do was to lose the crowd before he ran right into them.

"Miya!" Luffy waved as he ran over. "I'm back!"

Miya swore she'd kill him later but her eyes then rested on another familiar face running furiously behind him. She unknowingly gulped. The man's eyes flickered in surprise at seeing her face and weirdly enough, he seemed to be running even faster.

The surprise on his face had disappeared to show a determined one and Miya was sure the determination was anything but good for the crew.

"Guys…" Miya started urging them to carry the supplies they've gathered. "Let's run."

"Miya!" Luffy was now beside her as they ran together. "Look! I found that smoke guy from your town!"

The young woman hissed and glared. "I can _see_ that. Why did you bring him here with you?!"

"… It's not like I wanted to…"

She hesitantly looked back, realising that Smoker kept getting closer and closer. The drinks expert _tch-ed_ , unhappy that he had managed the close the gap in such a short time.

"M-Maybe he'll listen to me." Miya stuttered, knowing she was wrong. "You guys run ahead. I'll try to distract him."

"Don't be stupid! He'll capture you too." Luffy chided but the young woman had already stopped in her tracks to face the Navy Captain bravely.

Smoker seemed to find the situation interesting but he didn't once stopped running.

"Wise choice!" He shouted as he ran closer. "I'll bring you back home to Maria. Your little pirate act is over, Miss. Pirate Enthusiast."

"I have a name you know!" Miya shouted back, ready to disappear as soon as he placed his hands on her. She was sure she was the only person in the crew who wasn't bound by his smoke.

" _Miya_." His sudden calling of her name startled the poor young woman. "Let's go back home."

 _What in the world…_

Sudden flames gushed out furiously to her front and the young woman stepped back from the heat. She looked towards her right and was surprised to see the half naked man from before standing right beside her. He gave her a large grin, soon focusing back onto the sight before him.

Smoker and the whole Navy army behind him had stopped running in their tracks, assessing the man carefully.

"You're…"

"Sorry! You won't be able to get to Luffy so easily!" The man shouted, standing firm on his feet. He turned to face her again, giving her a wink as he muttered out for her ears only. "You should start running. Don't worry, I got this."

"W-Who are you?"

"Portgas D. Ace." Smoker snarled, unhappy that a named pirate would help the Straw Hat crew get away. "Why would you help Straw Hat get away?"

"Ace?"

"Ace!" Luffy was heard shouting behind them. "What are you doing here?!"

Before Ace could answer, Luffy's outstretched hands were already on Miya's waist, causing her to scream in surprise as he placed her over his back.

She noted he seemed to do that a lot with her.

"L-Luffy! Put me down! I can run well on my own!"

"No way. What if you decided to be stupid and stopped running again?"

Miya wished he hadn't been so honest with her.

"That man called himself Ace." She commented, eyes still on his back and the familiar pirate mark on his back. She swore she'd seen it somewhere. "He seemed to know you, Luffy. Who is he?"

"We're all curious too." Sanji added on.

"Ace is my older brother!"

"B-B-Brother?!" The crew screamed in unison again.

"Anyway, he told us to get out of here." Nami was the first one to snap out of it. "Look, the lane splits up in front. Let's all go to the left."

"Got it!"

"I didn't realise I would see Ace here." Luffy muttered dreamily. "I wonder what he's doing here…"

It was then Miya noticed that the crew had run to the left while the two of them were headed to the right. She groaned, wondering how unreliable Luffy was at the crucial moment.

"Luffy!" Miya reckoned it took a great talent for the guy to be the way he is. "We got separated from everyone else!"

He realised it to be true before uttering casually. "… So we are."

The young man screeched to a stop as they reached a small alley way, finally putting his friend down as they looked around.

"You're right." Luffy added salt to the wound. "We _did_ got separated."

"Why you little-"

"At least we're together!"

The grin he bore was too pure, too _good_ for Miya to retaliate angrily at her Captain. Instead, she found herself keeping mum but the furrowed eyebrows on her face seemed to twitch uncontrollably. The young man found the angry look familiar, choosing not to say anything as he thanked his lucky stars that his companion wasn't blowing his head off at the moment.

A few seconds after, a random person had suddenly appeared beside Miya, seemingly coming from the roofs above them. The young woman resisted her urge to scream, hands clutching her chest from the shock as she stumbled backwards instead.

"Ace!" Luffy greeted his older brother. "You're here!"

"Yo, Luffy." The man high-five the shorter one. "Great to see you."

 _Wait, that's not a high-five… Arm wrestling?! In this situation?!_

"How are you?" Ace continued his hardest to beat Luffy, though his gaze was averted onto the young woman's face. "… You're the one from earlier…"

"Oh!" Luffy noticed the stare. "She's Miya! She's part of my crew and she makes the best drinks!"

"Oh? Interesting. Well, nice to meet you Miya."

"L-Likewise."

"She's pretty." Ace whispered to Luffy and he nodded his head in agreement.

Miya blushed, having be able to hear that but frowned as she realised that the man had been whispering. Surely he thought that she couldn't hear him?

 _Don't tell me he's an idiot like Luffy too…_

Miya's presence would be temporarily forgotten as the two partake in their little arm wrestling competition. She couldn't see who won, for the barrel they were resting their arms on had split into all directions from their sheer strength. The brothers continued catching up and she made sure to put a distance between themselves, not wanting to pry into personal information that they might not want her to hear.

"You do have an interesting variety of crew." Ace remarked as the two made their way towards her. He noticed her stare on him and smiled awkwardly. "… I heard you're a devil fruit user too."

Miya nodded her head. "Yup. I'm a blood human."

"What does it exactly do?" Curiosity was laced in his voice. "Hopefully it isn't as useless as Luffy's."

"Hey! Being rubber is not useless-"

"Well, it allows me to disappear whenever I'm in a pinch." She explained. "It has its' cons though. I tend to leave a bloody mess whenever I activate my power."

Ace wanted to call her out on her pun but choose not to as she continued.

"Also, I can fuse my blood with others. It allows me to control their actions and read their minds if I'm able to obtain just a teeny bit of their blood."

"… Sounds scary."

Luffy frowned. "No it's not. It's awesome!"

"Sorry, it's scary." Ace shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't want people to read my mind or control me when I'm injured in a battle. Hey, have you ever tried it on Luffy?"

Miya shook her head, disappointment running through her features. "Nope. Haven't managed to kill Luffy as of yet. Maybe one day."

The two boys laughed, though one was clearly more nervous than the other. It wasn't long until they reached the open sea and it was then Miya _finally_ noticed that there were bounty hunters after them. She recalled the group being extremely intrigued by Ace's presence; she couldn't really blame them for she finally remembered what the mark on his back had actually meant.

And judging from the vague conversation she came across just now, Luffy's older brother was a super big shot. He was the Second Division Commander of the notorious Whitebeard Pirates. That would explain his crazy skills that defended himself _and_ herself from the bounty hunters as they strolled through the alleyway just now.

"Your friends must be looking for you two." The older man scratched his head sheepishly. "But I don't see any ship docked nearby."

Before Miya could answer, Luffy had already screamed excitedly that he found the ship a few miles away in the middle of the sea.

"Oh, there it is." Miya smiled as she found the ship as well, having borrowed Ace's binoculars from him. "Maybe we should wave… L-L-Luffy?!"

Her Captain's hands were wrapped tightly around her waist, a cheeky smile on his face. Miya looked helplessly at Ace, who chuckled anxiously as he realised what his younger brother was about to do.

"Erm, Luffy?" Ace tried to calm the guy down. "Maybe you should reconsider-"

His words fell on deaf ears as the two sprung towards the ship with Luffy's elasticity. Miya screamed loudly, not before landing right on top of somebody as her cushion.

She knew it was a person as she heard him groaned along with her from the impact.

The young woman sat up and clutch at her head groggily, trying to regain balance from the chaos that spiralled just now. She considered choking the life out of Luffy for not giving her a fair warning but sighed when it came to her that Luffy will probably feel no pain.

"Geez, Luffy. I hate you sometimes."

" _But I love you, Miya-chwan!"_

Miya groaned again, realising to who she was sitting on. Blonde hair and starry eyes meet her gaze as she looked downwards, a blissful look on her saviour's face. She pushed herself off him, dusting herself as she took Vivi's hands to stand up.

Meanwhile, Sanji remained lying down in his fantasy.

"Earth to Sanji." Miya called out, holding her hand out to him. The cook accepted it readily, bringing himself up as a more normal grin sat on his face. She considered it normal because it was different from his weird ones. "… Thanks."

"I should thank you, _milady_."

"Hey!" Luffy squeezed in between the two. "You should thank _me,_ Miya. I got you on the ship."

The young woman merely ignored him – and also the arguments that followed – as her eyes rested on the binoculars slung around her neck.

"… This is the person I should be thanking…"

"You said something?"

Miya's screams overlapped the crew's, all surprised to see a visitor casually crouching at the tip of their ship. She turned around, wide eyes meeting his and he hopped lightly to stand next to her.

"How did you-"

"A raft?!" Usopp screamed again beside her, having a deep interest in the yellow, half crescent shaped thing near the Going Merry. "You travel on a raft?!"

"It's convenient." Ace laughed before turning back to Luffy. "You know, you shouldn't just leave when we're in the middle of a conversation. That's so you, Luffy."

His younger brother rolled his eyes and Ace turned to face Miya, his gaze now on her neck. "I believe that's mine."

"R-Right!" She stuttered as she clumsily took the binoculars off her. "Sorry and thanks."

"No worries."

Silence soon followed with the crew looking expectantly at their newest visitor. The poor guy gave an awkward wave, just a teeny bit taken aback by their overwhelming curiosity.

"So…" Zoro was the first one to speak. "This is your brother."

Ace waved again. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Ace, Luffy's older brother. Thank you for taking care of him all these while."

The crew gasped in surprise, each uttering backhanded comments at a certain Captain from his brother's introduction.

"How can they be like heaven and hell?" Nami groaned.

"His manners are impeccable, is he really Luffy- _san_ 's older brother?" Vivi chipped in.

"Luffy's older brother is much cooler than Luffy!" Chopper was heard saying.

"Wow, Luffy doesn't stand a chance." Usopp laughed obnoxiously.

Ace stepped back from how enthusiastic the crew were, scratching the tip of his nose lightly. He turned to face Miya – something he realised he did a lot when he's confronted in a situation since he met her – and was relieved to see a gigantic smile on her face.

"So Ace," Luffy brought his older brother to sit on an empty barrel. "You still haven't told me why you're here."

"Right, right." He pondered on his thoughts for a moment. "I'm looking for a man called Blackbeard."

"Blackbeard?"

"Who is he?" Miya asked, curious.

"He used to be part of the Whitebeards' and I was his commander. He killed someone, one of our own, and that's something unforgivable. I came here to look for him."

He continued. "Last I heard, he was seen in Yuba. So that's where I'm headed to."

"Yuba?" The crew looked at each other at this new information.

"That's where we're headed!" Vivi remarked, taking out a map. "Look, we have to pass by here and here, and then we'll reach Yuba. That's where we're going too, to find the Rebel Army."

"I see. You guys are headed for Yuba too, huh." Ace looked meaningfully towards a certain young man. "Looks like I'll be sticking around for a while."

"Well, that's that." Miya clapped her hands together. "Why don't you rest for a while? I'll get you a drink."

"A drink?" Zoro's interest was piqued.

Chopper whined. "I want a drink too!"

The Straw Hat member laughed, ruffling Chopper's head as she headed into the kitchen. Sanji trailed behind her, giving an excuse that he wanted to prepare a snack for the crew as well, one that would pair off nicely with "Miya's amazing drinks".

The young woman decided to make him her specialty; a drink she'd usually make for strangers based on their appearance. She decided to make it a little strong, remembering the impressive fire earlier she had saw with Smoker.

"So here it is, a drink tailored especially just for you."

Ace narrowed his eyes at his mug before taking a cautious sip, one that he wouldn't have regretted. The refreshing taste lingered on his tongue and the Whitebeards' Commander gave his server an excited thumbs up. It was nothing like he had ever tasted before and he was envious at Luffy for getting such a talented person as his crew mate.

"This is amazing!" Ace took a big gulp again but his comment wasn't heard by anyone except for Miya. The crew had scattered to their own corners, enjoying the drinks and snacks both Miya and Sanji had prepared. "… Do you wanna come with me and be under Whitebeard instead?"

Miya simply chuckled. "I'll pass. I found myself a great Captain."

"A damn shame."

"I-Is it to your liking?" She asked, wanting to get a reconfirmation on her skills.

It had been some time since she tried to serve a stranger – the last had been Chopper – so Miya felt obligated to hear a compliment to make sure that she wasn't rusty.

"With the way I'm filling this down, most definitely." Ace sighed in satisfaction. "Any other specialties you have?"

"Currently no but I can refill your mug for you if you'd like."

Three mugs full later, the pair had sat side by side, observing the rest of the crew as the Going Merry continued sailing.

"So," The young man feigned a cough at the awkward silence. "Why did you decide to follow Luffy?"

"Because meeting him was fate."

"Fate?"

"… It's a complicated story. A boring one too. You wouldn't want to hear it." She reassured him but the stubborn look on his features forced her to say otherwise. "… I have always been fascinated with pirates my whole life. My mother thinks it has something to do with my birth parents so she had always encouraged me to sail out to sea. I couldn't find the right time or crew to sail out but meeting Luffy… meeting all of them was fate. And here I am."

Ace laughed. "That wasn't complicated at all."

"I'm only telling you the shortened version, mind you."

"Thanks for that. I'm no good with long stories, actually." He chuckled again. "Fate, huh. Do you actually believe in it?"

Miya nodded her head seriously, surprising Ace to how firm and resolute she seemed to be. His heart fluttered looking into her serious eyes and the young man feigned a cough again to hide the probable weird expression that had begun forming on his face.

"Don't you?" She asked and the young man only shrugged his shoulders. "You managed to meet Luffy here. Don't you think that's fate?"

"… I think it's a coincidence."

"Same difference." Miya rolled her eyes playfully, not realising that her companion had a dreamy look on his face. "Wait, let me think of other possible examples."

"Well," Ace pursed his lips nervously. Why was his heart suddenly beating this fast, damn it?! "I think meeting you was fate."

"M-M-Me?!"

Her eyes had widened in surprise and she was sure she had been hearing things if it wasn't for the slight blush forming on his cheeks.

The young man cursed to himself. "… That was uncool. Damn it. I don't know why I'm suddenly like this."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Sorry." Ace gave the young woman a weird smile. "Just ignore what I said."

Miya merely looked at him unsurely, as he went off to join his younger brother, Usopp and Chopper in their weird antics.

* * *

The ship had docked once again, with Vivi giving instructions to Karoo to get to Alubarna. Miya stayed on-board with Zoro and Ace, though she noticed their guest had avoided her gaze and presence all together as he only kept talking to the Captain's first mate. While Miya had found it weird, she tried not to think too deeply of the situation considering something more important was brewing right under their noses.

Merry-Go finally docked once and for all as the crew made their way towards Yuba.

"Miya- _chan_." Sanji looked like he wanted to cry. "What is _that_ you're wearing?!"

The young woman merely raised an eyebrow as she met both Nami and Vivi's gazes, the blonde cook getting frustrated as his dreams were purportedly dashed. She shrugged her shoulders, quickly getting off the ship after Luffy managed to defeat the cute Kung-fu dugongs.

They walked a good distance before reaching Erumalu and Miya couldn't help but noticed Ace's nervous glances in her direction throughout their journey. Nami seemed to notice this as well, whispering gleefully in her ear as they walked.

"… I think he likes you."

She shook her head at that ridiculous statement. "We've only just met. It's probably something else. Maybe… he finds me annoying?"

Miya had walked on ahead, leaving the orange haired young woman to curse her friend out at being dense. Unbeknownst to the two, Ace had caught on to what the two were whispering about, furrowed eyebrows plastered on his handsome face.

Vivi had walked on, telling the rest of what used to be the Green City. They were lost in their emotions, until a creepy sounding voice echoed through the sands.

"What's that?" Miya tensed, eyes swiftly checking for any signs of enemies nearby.

"Voices?" Luffy looked around as well.

"S-Should we do something?!" Usopp looked towards the oldest there. "W-What do you think?"

The said man frowned and shook his head, as though trying to reassure the crew.

"It's just the wind." Ace commented. "It's just passing through town and reverberating among the ruins here."

"It's as though… the city of Erumalu is crying." Vivi pursed her lips together as the wind got stronger.

Miya hesitantly patted the girl's back, knowing that it won't probably comfort her at all. Meanwhile, Luffy, Sanji and Usopp had stormed off to cool their anger, their victims the building ruins nearby.

Zoro sighed. "Geez, you guys are such kids."

"Vivi!" Luffy shouted. "Let's not sit around any longer and let's head to Yuba!"

With that unanimously agreed upon, the crew made their way into the treacherous sands, determined to help the poor Princess in her plan to rescue Alabasta from the menace, Crocodile.

"You shouldn't frown as well."

The black haired woman looked up, surprised to see that Ace was finally acknowledging her presence again and walking right beside her. She tilted her head in confusion; wasn't it normal to be frowning under these circumstances?

"You're going to make the girl more anxious if you're frowning too." Ace clarified when he saw that she didn't understand. "… So lighten up."

Miya huffed, dragging her feet among the heavy sand. "Easier said than done. A-And anyway! I _am_ lightening up. I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

"More than Vivi and this kingdom?"

She was sure that there was an underlying meaning behind his question but the Straw Hat member merely shrugged her shoulders.

"… Sorry."

 _This_ was something Miya didn't understand either. "… What for?"

"You're not annoying."

"… You heard?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "So-"

"I'm the one being annoying." Ace sighed. The two continued walking, not aware that they were huddled closer than before and were the ones walking last of the group. "I've only just met you and I said all those ridiculous things… And I even made you feel like I hated you when I don't… so, sorry."

Miya grinned, the first she did since they docked. "It's fine. Well, that's one problem off my mind."

"Truth is, I don't know what I'm feeling. It's like… like…"

"… Like you're attracted to me?" She whispered for his ears only.

The young man paused, eyes wide at what she was saying. Was it true? Was he attracted to her? Ace crossed his arms thoughtfully, simply staring at her figure as she walked first.

"Well, yeah." He uttered at long last. "… How did you-"

"Contrary to popular beliefs, I'm not dense, you know." Miya sighed. "… It's something I experience a lot growing up. And it's especially prevalent ever since I turned of age."

"… You think it's something to do with your devil fruit?"

"No, probably my history." She turned back to face him. "So don't worry. You're not _actually_ attracted to me, it's just some weird thing, I think. I'll probably learn more about it when I get to meet my birth parents. _If_ I get to meet them."

Somehow, the things she said didn't sit well with Ace. If he was right, Miya seemed to think that anyone who likes her don't actually genuinely do and that it was something that was inevitable due to her mysterious past.

Yeah, he definitely could not get on-board with that thought.

"Well, it's weird," Ace frowned. "but I think you're wrong."

"Uh-huh."

"So… So don't think that way, okay?"

Miya laughed, seeing the displeasure written all over his face. "… You know, you should lighten up."

The young man blushed – and he was glad Luffy couldn't see it for he would have been teased to hell and back – aware that she had threw his words right back at him _and_ that she was changing the subject. Butterflies still settled in the pits of his stomach but a sudden determination swirled in his body as well.

Ace was determined; he was going to show Miya that the attraction was something more than just the guesses she desperately held close. And if he was right, he was sure three other guys walking in front would agree with his thoughts too. Another peek at her face made his resolve firmer.

But for now, finding Blackbeard would be the priority.


End file.
